August 07
2005

Thank Joss Whedon project.
Joss (and some cast) will be in Edinburgh later this month. One of the Birmingham NEC fantable people intends to present Joss with "with a big thank you in the form of a folder with all your personal thank you messages, artwork or however you would like to express yourself". See site for information. Share the love.

Ha! Make sure you take pix of that Gossi ;)
I just thanked him for introducing my family to a whole new group of friends in my fellow Aussie BrownCoats. I do heart them sincerly and I tell ya, we're taking over that continent.

Well, that's just so, so, cool. Check out the Jayne footballer shirts they're going to have at the booth: "Canton F.C." Fantastic! So thrilled to see all this ex-U.S. love...was starting to feel a bit selfish/guilty about all our screenings when our brown-coated friends abroad are as devoted as seen here. Sweet.

And speaking of "Sharing the love," gossi, were I to happen upon the "Thank You, Joss" book, among other things, I'd have to get all personal/icky and thank him and the good folks here at W-esque for being the reason I met mine. Would have never found me some zeitgeist, were it not for all things Joss. *sigh*

Yes, I'm with barest_smidgen on that. Cough up them there details please? It may be off topic but it's still some mighty fine Whedon loving, of a sort. *sits next to barest_smidgen, with pillow and blanky, ready for tales of ribaldry*

*smiles* Indeed, of the many things that I have to thank Joss and Whedonesque for, meeting my love, the incomparable barest_smidgen is the highest on that list. Several flights later (not to mention hundreds of hours of phone and literally thousands of emails and txt msgs) and planning our next visit thanks to Whe-Dating(tm) :) Would love to hear more about others' stories!

I lived in Aberdeen at the time I stumbled across some Buffy site or other. Ended up dating somebody for about 2 years from Aberdeen (they lived in Liverpool) - I'd get the train down each Friday night and go back each Sunday. About 7 hours each way.

After 2 years, moved to Liverpool just after Xmas, and got dumped. Of course that was going to happen, though. Got back together with her last year, and then got dumped just after Xmas.

It's a tale of woe. Don't regret a minute of it, though, as it helped define who I am as a person. And now I sound like James Marsters.

Well is somewhat relevant for this thread, as if it wasn't for Joss and co I wouldn't be married.

Anyhow Buffy dating.

Real-life friends won't really understand at the start. "You met on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer message board?"
In the early days, you can tell a person is interested in you if they keep talking to you despite you declaring your shipping loyalty for Buffy/Riley.
Whedon-dating does give you a lot to talk about and helps to get you to know the other person. After exhausting over 250 Whedonverse episodes, you may need to find something else to talk about.
Long distance flights are a pain in the butt if the other person lives 5000 miles away.
Despite trying to disguise a romance in the early days of chatting, other posters will know. Trust me on that.
Getting married to her was ace :). She moved over from SF to Belfast to be with me.

Oh, Simon, that is fantastic :)) *grin* This is the thread that started it all for us, by the way. Also, that thread is the first search result for 'cue the rising music' on google (maybe MSN as well?), which amuses us to no end.

Now I have to double post to respond to Simon.
I wanna see me some wedding pix! Maybe in Flickr? It's just lovely to hear of romance blossoming on a Buffy board. I find it all really sweet, and romancy. *nix is all gushy*

Awww that's so cool, Simon. But tell us of these strange 'something elses' you have to talk about? The community we Whedonversers have made never ceases to amaze me. I have made so many friends (although I didn't marry any of them) through loving Joss' work. Which is one of the reasons I wanted to to start this little project. This post only went up 2 hours ago and I already have five pages of messages, every one of which is intelligently written. Thanks Gossi for posting this.

Oh, gossi. *hugs you* Sounds almost a bit like our fair William, too. (Had a sad, but silly vision of a moose-like demon in the background, in some Liverpool local, dripping goo.) Whedon girls can be a handful, indeed, says one, about herself. (see my ill-behaved introduction to zeitgeist in the thread he's referenced above. )

Glad to see that the adventure hasn't made you bitter...I can honestly say now that the dark and dank places I've been are a good deal responsible for me being open to the astonishingly good stuff today. So cheers to the five years, and to the resolute looking forward. Have a feeling there's bigger and better happy on it's way to you, friend. *crosses fingers*

Wow, how kool is that Cider!
And last post before I fall of my chair from lack of sleep.
Zietgeist, I so remember that thread, and the flirtatious way you two were. So, I'm assuming barest_smidgen, you took him up on that spare ticket? Sleep now.

nixy -- no, she ended up not flying to Chicago for the BDM, but it got us exchanging emails and then on to phone calls.

gossi -- "Don't regret a minute of it, though, as it helped define who I am as a person." To quote our most recent Doctor, the inimitable 'nowhere-near-as-cool-as-barest_smidgen' Mr. Eccleston, 'Fantastic!'. As both you and barest_smidgen said above, these experiences can help us define who we are and what we want (even the negative ones, maybe especially the negative ones) and make us open to what may come in the future.

Oh, Simon. Loved reading your happy tale and cautionary notes. Thanks ever-so for sharing. (Ever notice how when you're all blissful, other people's love-stuff is such a joy, and when you're not, you'd prefer they'd stick a sock in it, and get miserable like everyone else...? ;D) At the risk of hijacking this thread with icky talk of my own sappy happy, a couple more things...

So true, so true. I've vagued it up and tried to pepper our meeting-story with non-verse credibility by saying ridiculous stuff like "we both contribute to this very interesting blog and started corresponding about enjoying each other's writing." If you've seen the truth in the thread zeitgeist posted, you'll see just how absurd a duck and cover that is...

and:

After exhausting over 250 Whedonverse episodes, you may need to find something else to talk about.

Again, so true. My sorta Buffy-fan friend asked skeptically, "Do you talk about anything other than Buffy?" And i explained that we don't talk about it at all...just find ourselves peppering other rich, but unrelated conversation with 'verse references. Which is just so fun.

nixygirl said:

I so remember that thread, and the flirtatious way you two were. So, I'm assuming barest_smidgen, you took him up on that spare ticket?

Smiling that you remember our silliness at all, and that you remember it as 'flirtatious' rather than outrageous manipulation/bad behavior on my part. Very sweet of you. I actually chickened out on winging out to Chicago for the spare ticket after our first exchange. I think I was being cheeky and was just baiting him for verbal sport, never thinking he'd actually offer the ticket. When he called my bluff and extended the invite, I started falling then and there. Not having any of my nonsense, him. Can't get anything past this accomplished fei hua artist. Just one of the many things that make my knees weak about this delicious man.

And lastly, I was all blushy and grinny when z called me 'incomparable' above, all in public, and amongst y'all. Overflowing with atypical need for some posting PDA -- the desire to gush about him grotesquely, in return, here. And then a few short posts later, he dilutes it completely by whipping out an "inimitable" for some, i'm guessing, Dr. Who character?!?. *narrows eyes, crosses arms, clears throat to ready shrill voice for throw-down, considers starting first real fight over this perceived slight* See what i mean about us Whedon-girls, gossi? Handful. ;D

(Just teasing. Love me some zeitgeist. Wow, do i. Here endeth the sickening love-talk. Thanks for indulging me, friends, and thanks for the kind words. Promise to get back to the nasty sarcasm and eff-off-talk, now.)

*goes back to add strike-through line and @$$kissery to previous post to pacify his hellkitten* :D To be fair inimitable isn't always purely complimentary (and certainly not of the same level as incomparable), while incomparable leaves no question that it is... imo

Couple of other notes:

It's really funny how little time we spend talking about 'verse related things, considering how we met. My friends tend towards a bit geekier, though I have had done some ducking with some as to how/where we met. Meanwhile, the geekier ones are just relieved that it was on a Whedon board :))

Thanks again to all who shared their tales and for putting up with the happy/sappy, and thanks to all at Whedonesque for being the medium by which I met this incredible woman whom I adore.

Funny, I always like to hear that good things are happening to good people no matter what is happening in my life. I am enjoying reading about the barest_smidgen/zeitgeist connection as well as Simon's tale of happiness. Course I love stories, especially stories I can relate to, and that means I like hearing Gossi's too.

I never had a relationship that started over the internet, but I have had relationships that had things in common with the one Gossi talked about. Actually, though I am female, I do sound somewhat like James Marsters's when the subject of my love life comes up...or he sounds like me. It makes me feel really bad for the guy. :-)

Anyway, hang in there Gossi and have patience. I look forward to hearing the inevitable good news on the Gossi front sometime in the future. Meanwhile, congratualtions barest_smidgen, zeitgeist, Simon and all others cupid has done right by. May the good times last forever and may you let us share the fun.

Seriously, barest & zeitgeist, I had no idea about you two! Your story is very cute and very inspiring!

WhedonMatch sounds like a great idea to me! Tried Match.com and it was just awful. Well, I did meet one nice person who I keep in touch with from time to time, but mostly it was pretty scary. Needless to say, no matches were made. Since I already love 99.9% of you, what a great place to start! ;D

also,
Willowy: "very cute and very inspiring" much better than getting tomatoes thrown at us for being too lovey in the thread. For any who don't know, contact Simon or SoddingNancyTribe for more Whe-Date/WhedonMatch info ;)

newcj: tell Marsters he sounds too much like you and you are considering legal action if he doesn't stop :) 'Quick, to the AngelMobile!' Seriously, though, thanks for the kind words and I agree, gossi's story is especially heartening in spite of not so much the happy ending, due to the 'don't regret' bit :) Good stuff.

and,
Simon:
"In the early days, you can tell a person is interested in you if they keep talking to you despite you declaring your shipping loyalty for Buffy/Riley." This is one of my favorite lines ever :))

...and here I was thinking to myself, 'self, it's a lovely day outside, why not spend sometime away from Whedonesque today?' but upon reading this thread (much like the Hero of Canton himself says), 'how could I stay away?'*Sigh* I know I don't post too much here, but with Whedonesque as my homepage I read all of pretty much every thread. This one is particularly sweet and it makes me sniffle just a little at the love, oooh the love. zeitgeist and barest_smidgen, I am happy for the both of you, but like Willowy above, I had no idea either! I'm reminded of "A Hole In The World" right about now (not for the horrible death part of it but the sweet, happy couple part - jus' so we're clear):

This entire thread, and Madhatter's above comment in particular, just solidifies my admiration and love for this community and all of you wonderful folks; really, does it get any better than it is right here and now?

zeitgeist, hee hee hee sounds like fun. Like lollipops at the circus. Luckily for him I'm not a nut case or litigious so I'll have to pass. (Blast! Being sane really does take the fun out of life sometimes. )

...And btw, good for you for finding a Jersey girl. If it is going to be long distance at least you're going for the best. ;-)

I love the warm fuzzys!
I much like Gorramit, woke up this morning and told myself not to come here, but to work...
and look where I am :D
That was nice spotting there too Simon!
Someone suggested earlier this week we should change the name of Whedonesque to 'Welcome to the Love Spa'...hee, sounds right after reading this thread. Which btw is most likely my favorite thread ever on here ('cept maybe for the Ben and Glory one...good times)

barest_smidgen said:

So true, so true. I've vagued it up and tried to pepper our meeting-story with non-verse credibility by saying ridiculous stuff like "we both contribute to this very interesting blog and started corresponding about enjoying each other's writing." If you've seen the truth in the thread zeitgeist posted, you'll see just how absurd a duck and cover that is...

Smiling that you remember our silliness at all, and that you remember it as 'flirtatious' rather than outrageous manipulation/bad behavior on my part. Very sweet of you.

Bahahaha, I loved your cover story, funny stuff. (for us that is ;)) and yes I very much rememebered it, and upon reading it a second time, I still see you as, yea...a bit cheeky, but mostly flirtatious. And btw; what a pay off! Ya may not have seen the BDM, but ya got your fella out of it. Nicely done you two!
(so if there's a wedding, we get invites right?)

And finally, to gossi, madhatter, wilowy, newcj, and myself maybe there is that one special geek for us? And if not, then it's nice to look on, to others happiness.
Thanx for sharing the love everyone.

Nice spot, indeed, Simon. *sheepish that it's all there in plain text to see, but in the interest of full disclosure, comes completely clean and offers the following*Here is where I think I actually 'outed' our illicit affair for the first time. ;D

And while on the subject of WheDating, Willowy, et al, it's not the worst idea ever. Folks here just seem to be of like-mind and if not exactly of like-mind, at least of like-soul, which is a pretty cool place to start. I think zeitgeist would agree that in some ways we're an extraordinarily unlikely pairing... the surfaces of our lives are so very different. Yet, we seem to be wired the same. Alarmingly, astonishingly so. And that's probably how we found our separate ways here, and eventually, to each other. Improbable and impossible as it all seems, I'm just so goddamned grateful that I had the presence of mind to take the risk, 'cuz the reward...? It's a helluva thing.

So, girl -- that by way of saying, screw the distance between Arizona and Japan. Go get you some Madhatter. And Madhatter....go get that Willowy. Really, now. Whatcha got to lose...?

I'm currently watching Gigli, which has put me off the subject of sex for at least, you know, 30 minutes.

Please tell me you meant to type 31 minutes at least :)) 30 minutes? That would just seem silly... cheers, all, once more on the kind words. Surprised no one called us out before my dearest let the cat out of the bag (it's a good thing she did, as we are both deathly allergic).

'Welcome to the Love Spa' can, I believe, be credited to TheZeppo, unless I am mistaken. Ah, ha, here it is: Welcome to the Love Spa.

ETA: very smiley at the post above mine, apparently posted at same time as mine. Off to rack up some more phone time :)

I've been working on a book about fandom, and one of my favorite stories is about a friend, who came to live with me while she was looking for a job in LA. We'd only ever communicated on Buffistas, rarely by email. But I invited her to stay when she decided to move cross country. And so she did, the first time I'd ever seen her was when she arrived at my doorstep. Two hours later, as she was unpacking, I asked her what her last name was.

That was two years ago, and she's like family to me, now.

Aside from that, my closest friends spun out of Buffy message boards. They're the people who care for me when I'm sick, pick me up from the airport, and support me even when I am clearly in the wrong and forgive me anyway. Love me, despite me, I mean.

In addition to all that, I got to throw some hella parties, raise a lot of cash for good causes, and become friends with a couple of my favorite writers. Shit, I got to design the logo for Tim's production company (beagles!) and see something I made on the teevee. All through online fandom communities.

So, Simon, I know it's all hard to explain to the 'netless masses. I mean, they have the 'net, but don't uise it the way we do. But really, they're missing out on friendships with people they'd otherwise never meet without it.

Hm. When I think about it, there may be a tie in my fave stories. Last year, the Buffistas (including Tim, who was the first to paypal me half the funds needed) pooled together their cash to bring an Israeli Buffista to the states for a 5 city tour. We all loved her so much for years, and she contributes so much to our community that we were all dying to meet her. So we bought her the plane ticket and paid for her visa and such to bring her on over, everyone hosting her in Boston, New York, DC, LA, and San Francisco.

And really? We'd never have met her, had that amazing experience, if we hadn't all gathered in one spot to talk about the show with the silly name.

I think we're not so much the weirdos. We're taking full advantage of a method of communication that allows us to find all the members of our tribes, worldwide, who would otherwise be lost to us. People who look down their noses at that can retire to their tiny, hard-boundary worlds while the rest of us roll our eyes and go out to meet new people and expand our families.

It's by far a richer experience, in my opinion, to be one of these "geeks" on the net. I'm constantly astounded by how much my life has been shaped by these electric walls.

Sorry for the second loveydovey post about fandom in the past few days. I'm packing a lot of things into a hallmark card sized post, and so that always sounds too sugary. I've been writing so much about fandom (the good and bad) that it's all very close to the surface and all types of nostalgic.

It's not my story, but the old official Buffy board, the Bronze, was designed by TV James, who was a also a mod. He met his wife on that board, and they just welcomed their first baby into the world not long ago.

I think the Bronze has about a half dozen marraiges and babies to its credit.

Oh, they were probably just being cheeky with one another for the sake of some good wordplay...but I was hoping to light the fire under them, regardless, because it could be the promising beginning to a possibility of something really, really fun. (Trust me and Simon on this.)

*groans at self* Dangerously close to the insufferable matchmaking of other couples.
ANYA: (smiling) Well, well ... we invited someone for you. (whispers) A guy.
XANDER: Ahh, don't worry, it's not a setup.
ANYA: Right. No. Just an attractive single man, with whom we hope you find much in common. And if you happen to form-
XANDER: Ahn-
ANYA: -a romantic relationship leading to babies-
XANDER: Ahn-
ANYA: -and many double dates with us so we have someone else to talk to, yay!

Fun to read all the comments (this must be one of the more rose-colored, cheesy, uplifiting threads to appear on Whedonesque!) and learn that the flirtation I remember from that thread a while back actually blossomed into something real. Hope you log many more phone calls and plane flights in the future, Zeitgeist and Barest_smidgen :-)
As someone who recently entered wedded bliss, I've put aside my natural cynicism for a bit, and am all for hearing any sort of happy courtship stories. If they came out of the whedonverse, so much the better.
Though my husband makes fun of me for visiting this board, I did meet him through the net – and he is responsible for introducing me to the world of Buffy (a show I also once, I am ashamed to say, mocked him for watching...)

Oh, and Gossi: If it's not prying, how did you move country, job, and life for the fandom? Just curious...

Though my husband makes fun of me for visiting this board, I did meet him through the net – and he is responsible for introducing me to the world of Buffy (a show I also once, I am ashamed to say, mocked him for watching...)

That sounds like me and my hubby. Except for the making fun for visiting Whedonesque, or course!
Ah, I still clearly remember hubby holding up a Spike calendar in a store and me rolling my eyes cuz that must have been that 'blond British vampire' he was always on about from that 'Buffy' show... Ah yes, does he ever enjoy reminding me of that!

And as long as we're giving out props for relationship bliss, I gotta give my shout out to Kevin Spacey and The Usual Suspects. Too bad it wasn't Buffy-related, but I was still of the unlearned back then, to my shame.

Yes, a bit sheepish (wish there was a 'sheepish' symbol) about the cheesy, rose-colored silliness, acp. It so goes against both of our jaded, sarcastic natures. (And all of ours, here?) Reminds me of a text from zeitgeist early in our embarassing giddiness: "Somewhere my cynical self is mocking me and I laugh and give it the finger." eta: ...followed by my "Ew. I hate us."

There are a number of things about my life and those of a lot of folks close to me that have changed or come about due to the net and/or fandom. My brother has the job he has now (and has had for ten years now) because of people he met online while writing shareware audio programs. I have a roomie who was looking to move to Minneapolis a couple of years back when I needed someone to help pay the ol' house payment (so I wouldn't have to sell) and we met playing online games. Two friends of mine met because of a random instant message and have now been married for seven or eight years.

Its not the medium by which you meet, its the connections that you find. How would barest_smidgen and I have met otherwise? I certainly can't answer that (I'm just thankful that we did)... to quote her earlier post "the surfaces of our lives are so very different. Yet, we seem to be wired the same." Those surfaces can determine to a broad extent who you might normally meet/interact with, but meet we did- here, in a forum for discussing one of the areas that our lives DO overlap. And as I said earlier in this thread, its actually funny how little we talk Whedon all things considered and how much we connect on so many other levels; Its pretty mindblowing, really.

I also find it funny that people so often say that you don't get to know people as well online as you would in person, which is not necessarily the case in my experience. You get to swap thoughts without the additional possible stresses associated with physical presence/interaction. If someone is going to lie to you about themselves on the 'net they will probably be willing to lie to you in person to, likewise with being open. All too often you see people blame the medium, when there is no logical argument for doing so.

You could meet some psycho with an empty trunk (excepting the duct/electrical tape and hatchet, natch), but, really, is it more or less likely so because of how you met them? I mean, serial killer conventions aside.

We were obliviously planning a first meeting at a remote cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota somewhere, until we started imagining unveiling these plans to family and friends. "No, no, Ma. Won't be able to call and check-in...no cell service up there." Surely followed by, "Weird. He asked me when the last time I had dental x-rays was, as he tossed a spool of heavy cable into the trunk with my suitcase. Huh. Wonder what that was about...? Guess he's just into nice teeth." ; D

By the by, just remembered that this thread started with tales of the upcoming festival in Edinburgh, and zeitgeist and I are heading there and into the wilds on holiday in October. Suggestions from the locals most welcome... : )

zeitgeist and barest_smidgeon, congratulations on finding one another. I do remember the flirting between you two on that thread and I'm glad to hear your relationship has progressed since then. This was a wonderful thread to find first thing Monday morning - all the love flowing from it almost made my migraine disappear :) (which is why I didn't read it on the weekend).

A Whedonesque dating service would be perfect. After all, an important aspect of any future relationship for me would be that the person would have to "get" Joss. And Willowy, your list looks pretty much like mine:
*sense of humor
*kind
*intelligent
*Whedon fan.
What more could one ask? :)

Congratulations to acp on your recent marriage and finding someone who didn't complain about you reading Harry Potter on your honeymoon!

At the time, I was in college, and my mother cut off all financial support, took my car away, cut off my health insurance, etc. I got student loans and managed on my own after that. Now I've married the suspected ax murderer and moved 1700 miles away from Mom, so she hates him even more! At least she pretends at being civil, which is all I can hope for with her! :~P

But he's been worth every bit of it! *loves on EdDantes*

But yeah, you're whole 'remote cabin on a lake' probably would raise some eyebrows. I hear if you dump someone in the water and it freezes over, no one can ever find them...

OH! I forgot the best part about my mom thinking my guy was a nutso killer. I went to see him around Christmas time, and before I went, my mom got me and my sisters identical gold bracelets. Except mine was the only one with my name engraved on it! I guess she thought if someone found my arm, they'd at least know who I was!!!

lol, Rogue Slayer! I do enjoy your and Ed Dantes' postings, especially in the same thread.

And I forgot to add to my post above, that I do know several people who are members of this board (both sexes) and they are all kind, intelligent, and have great senses of humour. Maybe Simon, Caroline et al are already screening for those traits? ;)

Or maybe that's just the kind of folk that Joss' work attracts! If I may say, Whedonesque sure seems to have a FAR lower rate of braggarts, bores, and bullshitters than anywhere else on the web! *Hugs room*

Rogue Slayer -- sorry to hear about the issues re: mother relating to your sweet, sweet axe-murd-- er darling Ed Dantes ;) The remote cabin, hehe... We were oblivious to that at first, it was just sort of 'What's one of the cool things about where you live?', 'Well, a lot of cool waterfront cabins and resorts once you get out of the metro.' Then when we realized, we played it up to the people we talked to about it. The cabin, rather than being on the edge of a decent sized town, came to be miles and miles from anywhere with no cell reception and etc etc ;) Not that we are sarcastic and like to have fun with people :D Certainly not...

barest_smidgen in particular had hours of fun with playing up that story to a group of friends. Oh, on the fun story front, one of my friends kept assuring me that my girl was going to steal my kidneys (when I flew out to meet her). Being us, we thought it would be fantastic fun to then take a pic of me in tub covered in ice with very scary looking knives arranged on a towel nearby, etc :)) Sadly the igloo cooler didn't make it into the pic, but we thought it was funny anyway (us with the dark humour).

Willowy -- oh, we're some of the most accomplished bullshitters on the planet but we only our powers for good (or for awesome!).

Thanks, samatwitch. Very sweet. Surprising (alarming?) how many seem to recall that intial verbal spar. Eek. Reminds one that this stuff is sorta global and permanent. Must be more careful. ;D

Oh, Rogue Slayer! What a simultaneously heartbreaking and absolutely gorgeous story. Real live Romeo and Juliet, you. Makes complaining about simple geography seem lazy and dramatic. Where is that EdDantes today, anyway, to go on and on about his unstoppable woman, and how she moved heaven and earth to be with him..?

And, ah...zeitgeist. The infamous "friends believing I was only inviting you out to Jersey to steal your kidney" story. Nice. Have to add that it was made much funnier by the fact that both my father and uncle need kidney transplants. Sent along a text making it look like communication between my dad and I had been intercepted, letting him know that they were on to us, and we'd need to move quickly to score the organ. (That seems excessively dark or crass in the retelling, doesn't it? Ah, well, it's just our way -- and my father thought it was hysterical. We'll take a good laugh anywhere we can get it.)

Where is that EdDantes today, anyway, to go on and on about his unstoppable woman, and how she moved heaven and earth to be with him..?

At home trying to set up his new computer, so he has less 'praise singing' time than I do! I'm just at work... :~P But he left his homeland to move to the US, so he technically made a greater sacrifice(as anyone who's navigated the GreenCard waters knows...) than I did. The choice was stay in Missouri or move to L.A. Not a tough call for me!

So how long 'til ya'll get together on a more permanent basis? Cohabitation? Marriage? Kids? C'mon, where's the details?? :~) I know it's only been a few months, but still....I'm nosey!

I think I'll thank him for creating something so incredible, which without them I'd never meet my best friends. I met them, because of common interest over Buffy and grew as friends from there. After sometime, we stopped to refer each other as the friends we met on the internet, or the friends we met because of Buffy or Angel.

I was going to post these story sometime ago over the flick group, but real life constraints, kind of got in the way, and i just forgot, just to be reminded about it by this thread.

Both events occurred this june, and just shows, how Joss and Co. creations touched us.

One of my friends, is from another city, but she was sent over to my city from work. She's a only child, and was very lonely at first. She was introduced to our group by another friend (who we also met, due to Buffy/ Angel meet ups and mailing lists) during the release of Buffy's 2nd season DVD we were doing with Fox, and ever since she's been with us. In June she had a surgery, and when she got really nervous, despite every single friend and parents assuring that things would turn up ok, she sought confidence by re-watching Buffy's 5th season. She said, that it was strong, and raised her spirits, to face the surgery.

Also in June, one of the firends in this groups, was finally getting married. And his history with our group just proves how far we've gone in these 5 or 6 years, since the group started to take form. We were with him, when his father passed away, when his almost fiancee left him, when his new love arrived. This new girl in his life was so fit, that he also turned her into a whedon fan (I'm still owing her my BtvS s6 and s7 tapes, so she can watch them with subtitles), she was almost addicted and inspired by it in a spin. Last year they finally got engaged, in a mirabolant plan that involved their families, their "normal" friends and us, so he could propose to her, in front of all of us. Last June, the wedding has finally come forth. It was uncommon religious ceremony, where the couple chose to play a lot of their favorites songs during it. He entered under Evanescence's "My Immortal", she entered with one of the Moulin Rouge's songs. What caught a lot of us by surprise, from the first string, was the song choice for her vows. Chris Beck's Buffy and Angel love theme, "Close Your Eyes". We realized, that it was something that was also especially for us, but it was real for them, but it was also they trying to share the same joy that we've experienced through the years with the common folk, that was never touched by that.

Maybe I'm mumbling in a very non-sense way right now, but it's hard to describe in words, the core feeling. Just wanted to share these tales with you guys.

"Sorry for the second loveydovey post about fandom in the past few days. I'm packing a lot of things into a hallmark card sized post, and so that always sounds too sugary. I've been writing so much about fandom (the good and bad) that it's all very close to the surface and all types of nostalgic."

I guess I've seen too many movies, but I'm so impressed with ya'll's impetuosity and willingness to risk it all for love! I'm so frickin' cautious! And the fact that there are stories like R&E's and B&Z's out there...*sigh*... really speaks to the girly romantic in me. You guys are terrific.

Wow...where to start.
OK firstly, I did not know EdDantes and Rogue Slayer were a couple. That is very kool , and why am I out of the loop? Also, thank you for your story RS, I do so love a tale with a happy ending.

And, another thank you to Numfar for that truly lovely story. I can't think of a more beautiful song to be played, and how great it is that the only ppl in the room who would have really understood the meaning in that song was thier net friends. I love that story! Great song.

Lastly, barest_smidgen and zietgeist, you guys are going to have to print out this thread and put it in your memory boxes. This is pretty special, I've saved this thread to my favorites. Again with the...Best..Thread..Ever.

I guess I've seen too many movies, but I'm so impressed with ya'll's impetuosity and willingness to risk it all for love! I'm so frickin' cautious! And the fact that there are stories like R&E's and B&Z's out there...*sigh*... really speaks to the girly romantic in me. You guys are terrific.

Willowy, I agree completely. I have several friends who have married someone they met on the Internet and I admire their courage for putting themselves out there. I was never good at dating even when it was someone I had met in person. But if you're going to live vicariously, today was certainly one of the best. Thanks, Simon, Rogue Slayer (and EdDantes in absentia), gossi, barest_smidgeon, zeitgeist, Allyson and NumfarPTB and anyone else I missed who shared their wonderful stories.

b_smidgen and zeitgeist, when you started putting the fears of friends and relatives in the Midwest and New Jersey in context I really got it and have been chuckling ever since. I am the only one of either side my extended family that was born and raised East of the Mississippi. (Everybody else is mostly from Missouri and Oklahoma, two States mentioned on this site more often then I usually run across elsewhere. ;-) ) Between my cousins' NJ mafia comments and my coworkers' suspicions that everything between Pennsylvania Dutch country and LA resembles the worst aspects from Deliverance, I definitely have a picture of what was going on with your friends and families...especially with the two of you having your fun stirring the pot. ;-)

Although I have no internet love stories, two couples during my life have informed me that they considered me unknowingly responsible for them finding each other. It made me feel really good even though I did not really DO anything on purpose. I'm sure all of these stories make Joss feel even better, when he is made aware of them, than I did when those couples told me.

Personally I came to the internet, a few years ago now, for interaction with people who were interested in really discussing things and with whom I could be myself without the risk of losing my job or alienating my neighbors...more than I already had. I have found that interaction in different venues as my tastes and interests changed and as I explored the possibilities. It is interesting to see the ways different groups come together and different forums attract people with similar attitudes. Also the ways that those groups change as new people come in and older ones move on.

Finding BTVS and Joss only about 1 1/2 years ago, lead me to explore a whole different part of the web and find a complex set of groups that I have barely begun to understand. It is an interesting community and I enjoy my interactions with you folks very much, even if I do keep to the sidelines. Thanks guys and thanks to Joss.

I'm totally here because I Whe-dated. About three years ago, I began dating a guy I worked with at a really crappy yet fun restaurant. We had entirely too much in common and even in the early days I called him "my evil twin". These days, it's a joking-yet-loving "Spike". Same faves of way too many books, films, and on and on. We never had boring times. He introduced me to Buffy.

The relationship deepened, of course. I kind of love the guy. We broke up when he got into a tad of legal trouble. Yup, he's quite like Spike.

We still have a mostly online relationship/friendship(?). He even calls my current partner Riley (because he really is). I just call his current partner Paige (from Charmed) because well, she's about that pretty but not cool like any Whedonverse chicks. Just a couple months ago, I breezed through his workplace to drop off... Firefly. It sure converted both of them to fan status. She figured out it was me who lent them, and pretty much told him he might as well just refer to me by my real name. oops. In other words, she knows who his online Buffy friend really is.

Circumstances keep us apart but we really aren't. My Whe-date is always in my mind, if not in my bed. He introduced me to Buffy but we both kept going back for more and getting deeper and deeper into it. He was still at newb status when he introduced it to me, so Whedon anything generated much much conversation and then some. If I can one day share his Xena pleasure, he might consider me worthy. :) j/k. Did I mention? He's an April fan. Because she's so hot, of course.

I have to add that I printed this thread just so I can read it whenever I start to feel cynical or think that romance is dead. zeitgeist and barest_smidgeon, if you decide to get married, you may have to install a webcam so that Whedonesquers can share in the happy occasion. :) Have fun on your next visit.

Hmmmm... reeling slightly from the fact that in three short months it's gone from me, ridiculously baiting an unknown zeitgeist in our very first exchange with "so, like, this probably means we're gonna get married", to friends openly speculating on it's eventuality...? ("Freaked out," might be the phrase. ;D) You kids are loving you some romance this week, huh...? So much fun, you all are. *flashes quick grin for your enthusiasm, then hides face, embarassed*

Yeah, it's crazy. I was actually looking back on the timeline for this and it seems like its been so much longer than it has. I feel like I've known her all my life and I've just recently realized it. Smiley to note that am checking tickets for the visit after next week's and we are trying to finalize details of a trip to Scotland together in October. Slight reeling when I pause to think about it, but at the same time its so calming that I can't get well and truly freaked out about anything related to it.